EUMOLPUS (thracian king settled at Eleusis)

Chione threw the infant Eumolpus into the deep to hide his birth, but Poseidon rescued him from the water.⁴ The god took the child to Ethiopia, and Benthesicyme was given the infant to raise.⁴ Eumolpus married one of the two daughters of Benthesicyme's husband, yet he was eventually banished for attempting to force his wife's sister.⁴ After his banishment, he went to Tegyrius, king of Thrace, where he was detected in a plot against the ruler.⁴

Following the death of his son Ismarus, Tegyrius sent for Eumolpus, and the two composed their old feud.⁴ Eumolpus then succeeded to the kingdom of Thrace, leading a Thracian army that took possession of Attica.^4,5,6 He fought on the side of the Eleusinians with a large force of Thracians during a war with the Athenians.⁴ Some accounts state that Ion defeated him, while others note that his son Immaradus was the actual victim of Erechtheus during the war.^5,7,8

Before his death, Eumolpus remained at Eleusis after the war ended in a treaty, and the Eleusinians and Athenians agreed on the location of his tomb.^9,10,11 He was survived by his younger son Ceryx, though the Ceryces claimed this boy was actually the son of Aglaurus and Hermes.⁸ Eumolpus is also remembered as the grandfather of Naus, who arrived in Pheneus following a Delphic oracle.¹²

Described as mighty and manly, Eumolpus was taught the holy mysteries by the goddess Demeter.^13,11,14 He purified Heracles of the blood guilt from killing the centaurs and initiated him into the mysteries, also teaching him how to play the lyre.^9,2 As a companion of the Thracian Orpheus, he entrusted the secret rites of Dionysus to King Midas.¹⁵ Listed among the Thracians who cultivated ancient music, he is said to have received his name for this skill, and he is credited with teaching the cultivation of vines and trees.^16,17 In a different tradition, he was a flute-player who testified in a false accusation against Tenes.¹⁸